Patriots: Brissett struggling to reverse course

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Whether Jimmy Garoppolo will one day supplant Tom Brady as the starting quarterback of the New England Patriots remains to be seen.

But, rest assured, Garoppolo will someday soon be a starter in the NFL, whether it’s here or elsewhere, as a compelling case can be made he’s currently superior to at least half the starting QBs in the AFC alone.

The fourth-year pro’s readiness was reinforced Thursday night as he displayed precision in the pocket as the Patriots opened the preseason with a 31-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium.

So someday Garoppolo will have his own offense to direct full-time. However, for now he remains mired in New England, despite the haul he’d fetch via a trade.

The Patriots are loaded as they take aim at becoming the first team in 13 seasons to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Should Brady get banged up, Garoppolo could capably step in and keep the offensive machine manufacturing points.

The bigger question is where is Jacoby Brissett headed?

The direction has, since the start of training camp, been backward for the 2016 third-round draft pick from North Carolina State.

Brissett has thrown more ground balls than a sinkerball pitcher. He’s regularly scrambled in seven-on-seven work, which isn’t what those passing drills are about, and frequently been sacked in 11-on-11 work, unable to even spot a running back for a checkdown throw.

All while mainly competing against players who will be seeking work in a field other than professional football come September. Ouch.

The exhibition opener slowed that slide, providing hope Brissett will at least develop into a serviceable pro like Matt Cassel rather than a washout like ex-Pats Rohan Davey, Kliff Kingsbury, Kevin O’Connell, Zac Robinson and Ryan Mallett, all of whom were drafted by Bill Belichick.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Brissett came in with just over five minutes left in the third quarter against the Jags and finished out the loss, going 8-of-13 for 88 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception, was sacked once, avoided a sack with a nifty display of athleticism, and scrambled once for 2 yards.

It wasn’t all good, but, for arguably the first time this summer, it wasn’t all bad.

“You know, it was an opportunity to go out there and put something good on film, an opportunity to play an NFL football game, which is a dream come true,” Brissett said. “You’ve just got to go out there and make the most of it and, I think, just learn from this.”

Brissett completed five throws of 10-plus yards to four different players and saw a deep throw to receiver Devin Lucien produce an interference penalty worth 43 yards.

The highlights were an 18-yard catch-and-run to Jacob Hollister on a play-action pass in which Brissett rolled right and hit the undrafted rookie tight end perfectly in stride, a dart fired down the middle to Hollister for 15 yards and a first down on third down, and a 17-yarder to receiver K.J. Maye after stepping up in the pocket.

Brissett actually looked composed at times, so that was progress over his rookie season when he, it should not be overlooked, finished out a Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins after Garoppolo was injured and started four days later in a win over the Houston Texans.

“I felt a lot more comfortable,” Brissett admitted. “You know, you get to do a lot of things a lot faster, and that was one of my goals going into this was just to go out there and have a faster operation than I did last year.”

The lowlight came at game’s end. The Patriots took over at their 31 with no timeouts and trailing by seven points with 1:06 to play and a chance for Brissett to assert himself in a pressure situation.

Brissett completed three consecutive passes to move the ball to the Jacksonville 41, but misfired on his final three throws, including one that landed way beyond the end zone as time expired. He chalked it up to a surge in adrenaline getting the best of him.

“I mean, you’re trying to go win the game,” Brissett said. “That’s probably why I sailed it 10 yards out of bounds, so I’ve got to control that a little bit.”

While Brissett is learning to do that — and so much more — the Patriots have wisely opted to hold on to Garoppolo for at least this season, one that’s shaping up to be super.

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